II Chronicles 34:33:  “And Josiah took away all the abominations out of all the countries that pertained to the children of Israel, and made all that were present in Israel to serve, even to serve the Lord their God, and all his days they departed not from following the Lord the God of their fathers.”

“How can I be useful, of what service can I be? There is something inside me, what can it be?”  Vincent Van Gogh

Josiah purged the nation of Israel of all its idolatries and caused the people to serve God. The word serve that is used here is abad which is in a Hiphal form.  Not being in a Piel for or having a paragogic, I would be reluctant to render this as Josiah forcing the people to serve God. In just a simple Hiphal form he would be causing the people to worship God, or creating a situation for people to worship God.

Vincent Van Gogh expressed it well; there is something inside of us that longs to be of service to someone or something. You see famous movie stars to whom much is given getting involved in causes from saving whales to building refugee camps in Haiti.  Even those who receive the service of others have some inward drive to provide a service.

In II Chronicles 34:33 the word service is repeated in the Hebrew. Some translations, like the KJV, will render this as “to serve, even to serve the Lord.”  That really is about the best you can do to put this into English. What the text is trying to express with this repetition is that Josiah’s primary focus was that the people would serve God totally, entirely. If they served him as a king, then they had to serve God.  If they didn’t serve God they could not serve him as a king. In this way Josiah caused the people to serve God.

That brings us to the primary question, the question that I have been pondering for many weeks.  How do you serve God? What does it mean to serve God?  Do you join a church and serve on a committee to organize a church picnic?  Do you forsake all and start up a ministry? Is service merely reading your Bible and praying?  I think we all have our own idea as to what service to God really is and we may all be right.

The word service in Hebrew is abad. You can check your Strong’s and your Lexicons and you will find the usual words that apply: bondage, slavery, tiller, performance, laborer, and worship. We get the general idea that abad is any activity that is performed for the sake of someone else. However, in its Semitic root this adad (service) involves performing an activity for someone without an expectation of receiving anything in return.   A waitress services with the expectations of getting a tip.  A service station owner expects payment for the repairs and services he gives.  But an abad gives and does not expect and often does not receive anything in return.

As I pondered this matter of serving God, I began to get sleepy and suddenly Abad (service) jumps out of my Hebrew Bible. The word is spelled “Ayin, Beth, Daleth.”   Ayin, Beth and Daleth were dressed in orange jump suits and joined together by chains. Like a chain gang, they slowly made their way to my Looking Glass hanging from my Daleth and walked through the Looking Glass. I followed them through my Looking Glass and found myself in a prison yard. There were rocks all around and Ayin, Beth and Daleth each took a sludge hammer and started to breaks the rocks. I looked around and found I was surrounded by a concrete wall with guard towers. The sun was beating down and it was hot and humid.  Suddenly, I was approached by a Daleth dressed as a prison guard. He asked what I was doing here. I explained I followed Ayin, Beth, Daleth here as I was seeking to understand what service to God meant.

Daleth looked at me strangely and asked: “This is what Ayin, Beth, and Daleth, told you what their meanings were?” I explained that I hadn’t really asked them what their representations meant in that particular combination. Daleth, then explained that they just took on the form that I imagined they represented. I had to admit that for me service was hard duty, a sacrifice and like being a slave or a prisoner. Daleth then led me to the gate, pointed to a mansion on a hilltop and said if I wanted to understand service to God I was to ask the Abad (Ayin, Beth, Daleth – service) who lived there.

When I arrived I was greeted by a Daleth dressed as a Butler. He greeted me with a smile and said Abad was busy in the service of the master of the house.  Daleth took me to the library where the Ayin to Abad was in deep study.  You see, “said Daleth, “The Ayin represents deep spiritual insight. The Ayin is your guide to the Master’s heart. Only in knowing the Master’s heart will you understand how you can best serve Him.

Daleth then led me to recreation room where I met the second letter to Abad (service) which was the Beth. Beth was dressed in white with a painter’s cap and a bucket of white paint in one hand and paint brush in the other. Beth shook his head and said: “Busy, busy, I am. I must keep the house of the Master clean and pure looking. Look at all that filth on the walls.” I saw graffiti painted on the walls spelling words, like jealousy, greed, selfishness, etc.  Beth continued; “I have the hardest job of all, keeping the Master’s house pure and clean. True service is keeping the Master’s house clean.”

We then went to the dining room where Daleth pointed out his cousin who was the Daleth in Abad or service. This Daleth was busy serving all the guest in the Master’s house with all the fruits of the Spirit. Some were eating fruits called love, some were joy, some were peace etc. My Daleth guide explained that the third letter for service or Abad was Daleth which shows that a servant of the Master is a door way to all the blessings of the Master.

When I returned to my office, I was followed by the Ayin, Beth and Daleth Abad (service) dressed in their orange jump suits and chained together.  I pulled out a little key that the prison guard Daleth gave me and unlooked the chains. “Ok, guys,” I said, “You made your point.” I looked to Ayin and said: “You taught me that the first step to serving God is to understand God’s heart.  Beth, you showed me that the next step to serve God is to keep His dwelling place clean. As He dwells in my heart, I must keep my heart pure for Him. Daleth you showed me that the final step to serving God is to bring the fruits of His Spirit, love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith and meekness to others. These are all joyful things and not deep heavy sacrifice and slave labor. Ayin, Beth and Daleth just saluted me and jumped back into II Chronicles 34:33.